Wave Race 64

Impossible matchups No. 16 Wave Race 64 vs. Metroid Prime They came out six years apart on two different Nintendo consoles, and neither one has anything in common with the other. The best game on the N64 vs. the best game on the GameCube. Which one was the better game?

Wave Race 64 The waves actually move in this one, so the same turn can play out different every lap. It came out about a month after the console did. Spend some time in Dolphin Park before you start racing.

Best and Worst Games I own: 1996 Best: Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64) Worst: NBA Jam Extreme (PlayStation) Super Mario 64 released as a launch title for the N64 and it's the game most people would pick as the best for 1996. I've said multiple times on here where I stand: Mario 64 is an important piece in gaming history. It hasn't aged well. The constant battle with the camera ruins the game. Wave Race on the other hand, this is what a perfect game looks like and one that has infinite replay value, even 30 years after its release. The game physics are really something else for 1996. The water moves differently every time you run a course, so you aren't memorizing turns the way you do in almost every racing game made since. 1996 was deep too. Tomb Raider, Twisted Metal 2, Pilotwings 64, Killer Instinct Gold all came out that year. NBA Jam Extreme wasn't a terrible game, but what Acclaim did with it was a downgrade from the previous entries in the series. Replacing Tim Kitzrow with Marv Albert as the announcer was a terrible move. What are your picks for 1996?

Honest and Unpopular Reviews No. 17 Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64) Most people have Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, or even Star Fox as their best N64 game ever made. I don't. It's Wave Race 64. I scored Ocarina a 4 a few game reviews ago and (spoiler alert!) Mario 64 won't get a 5 from me either. Every other racer on the Nintendo 64 gave you a track to memorize. You ran it enough times and eventually you knew where everything was. Wave Race doesn't work that way because the water is moving. You come around a buoy on lap three and the swell isn't where it was on lap one, so the line you had is gone and you're guessing again. The ski sits down in the water instead of riding on top of it, and you feel that when you land wrong and lose all your speed. There's a whole practice area, Dolphin Park, that exists before you ever touch a real course. I spent more time in it than I probably should have. The four riders control differently enough that you pick one and stay with him. It came out in 1996 and I still haven't played a water game that handles like it, including the GameCube one. I rate this one a 5 out of 5.